The Pied Piper
by QueenOfCandyNSoda
Summary: Charlotte Crepes is not happy that his mother is getting married to her arranged husband and unable to spend time with him because of it. Feeling lonely, he sees a playful teenager with a pan flute. Despite the Pied Piper's demeanor, there is something very off about him. Especially since Galette and Myrtle have heard of him and trying to stop his plan for Crepes.


**Crepes is nine years old and Galette's first son and child during this. He has red hair and eyes. He wore a red shirt with black shorts and shoes.**

**The Pied Piper is created by my friend, ****mNakahara98 in AO3 or opotakuism in tumblr.**

* * *

In the Cupcake Room in the Whole Cake Chateau, the young Charlotte grandchildren are playing while Myrtle watches from her "throne" with her young son Langres sits on her lap as he reads a book with her. The Silhouette Mistress smiles as she sees her son has become more lively and happy than before. He starts to smile more often out of genuine happiness. The ground shakes a bit, causing Myrtle to sigh as the doors of the Cupcake Room opens to reveal Big Mom.

Pie is the first to notice her. "It's grandmama~!" She shouted out. The grandchildren go to their grandmother in joy.

"Hahahaha-mamamama~ Are you all being good~?" Big Mom laughs as she talks to her young grandchildren. Her nine-year-old grandson by her eighteenth daughter approaches her with a somber expression. "Grandmama…" His name is Charlotte Crepes. Big Mom looks at her grandson curiously. "What is it, Crepes~?" She asked him innocently. Crepes sigh as he asked her this. "Grandmama, can you cancel mom's marriage...? I don't like the Farl guy…" Farl is a Rommel noble from the Travail family. Recently, Big Mom introduces Farl to Galette as her fiance. Farl is a kindhearted, gentle, and smart man. Galette has been widowed twice and was rather hesitant on remarrying, worrying that she might disrespect her second husband, Jules. However, Jules' crew told her that it's okay for her to remarry since Jules always wanted her to be happy. Besides, she can't go against Big Mom's orders.

"Oh, Crepes... I can't do that... Ambrosia! Pie! Please talk to Crepes about having a stepfather!" Big Mom asked two of her oldest granddaughters while still aware that the said stepfather died a few years ago. Ambrosia and Pie look at each other than look back at Big Mom. "But grandmama…" Pie started to say. "He wants Farl dead..." Ambrosia finished.

Myrtle's head shot up in shock and disbelief.

"We should not be saying things like that, Crepes…" Myrtle said, causing Crepes to pout. She is understandingly upset about the inappropriate words and behavior that some of the grandchildren are displaying. Especially when Big Mom encourages it.

"Mammama~~ Everyone has at least 100 to 200 to kill~~ Now, Crepes~ be nice to Farl and get ready for the wedding soon~ There will be a wedding cake for everyone~" Big Mom said to her grandchildren, who are all excited. All except Crepes.

* * *

Later in the late morning, as the grandchildren either go home or remain in the Whole Cake Chateau due to their parents being busy with meeting and work, Crepes is sitting down, waiting for Galette to pick him up. Usually, she won't be this late. She's now two minutes later. This infuriates Crepes to no end, assuming that Farl is doing something awful to his mother. He looks up to see his mother approaching the Chateau. He was about to smile until he sees Farl with her, upsetting him.

Crepes walk up to Galette and say "Mom, why did you bring him again...?" with an upset tone. "Farl has brought his family to introduce to your Grandmama...~" Galette responded back, unaware of his increasing frustration. "No! I don't want him here!" He shouts out back to his mother. Galette only sighs as she told Crepes to be nice to Farl, but Crepes starts ranting.

"Why are you being close to him!? You only met him for a month!". Galette slightly gets more frustrated and say his name to calm him down but to no avail. "Why are you not being with me!? You're my mom, not that idiot's wife!" He said to his mother. Farl starts to feel awkward due to the argument as Galette speaks to her son sternly. "Crepes. Of course, I'm your mother, but that's not how you speak of your new dad…"

This doesn't calm down Crepes. "He's not my dad! He's a fucking moron who should be dead!" This leads to infuriating Galette in return as said his name again. Then Crepes starts to talk to Farl directly. "She's my mom! Not your whore!" That was the last straw.

"CREPES!" Galette raised her voice for the first time at her son.

This causes Crepes to finally calm down and be quiet as he stiffens up. Galette takes a deep breath as she calms down and looks at her son sternly. "I won't tolerate the way you talk to someone like that. If you're not in the mood, you may go outside." Galette and Farl then walk into the Chateau. Crepes is too upset to go to the Chateau. He decides to leave for the Seducing Woods.

* * *

Crepes are sitting down on a rock as he still fumes from the argument. How dare that Farl guy takes his mom away. "Why does she spend more time with that idiot!? She just stops paying attention to me!"

Since his father died when he was only a few months old, Galette has done everything she can to raise her son alone without getting help as Big Mom refused to. She always does everything for Crepes when he needs someone. They are practically inseparable. However, now that Farl guy bursts into his life and takes his mom's attention, Crepes' anger hasn't been fuming.

His anger ceased as the sound of the piped flute was heard. Surprised, he looks around to find the source. It was coming from deep in the woods. This confuses Crepes as he goes deeper as if he was being lured by the music. The sound was getting louder as he went deeper. Then he looks at the source of the music.

There was someone is sitting by the large rock playing a pan flute. The younger boy goes closer to the person to see that it is a teenage boy with a dark hood, He looks like a piper playing a pan-flute peacefully.

Crepes, a bit unnerved yet fascinated, can only say one word hesitantly. "H-hello...?" He uttered to the teenager as his arms tensed up.

The teenager stopped playing and turns to see Crepes. The teenage boy has light brown hair and green eyes. He is pale, not as much as Langres, and it makes him look like he's made of porcelain. His blue eyes are abnormally pale as he starts to smile, which looks genuine yet uncanny.

"Hello...~?" The teenage boy asked the younger one as a greeting. His voice is eerie but rather melodic and gentle.

Crepes is still a bit uneasy by the stranger. He should be shouting STRANGER DANGER for his eighth Aunt Brûlée to help him. However, there's something about the teenager that causes him to be in awe. He can only ask questions.

"Who are you...? What are you doing here...?" Those are two reasonable questions for Crepes to ask him, especially the latter since no one in their right mind in Totto Land would come to the Seducing Woods.

The teenage boy starts to speak smoothly. "You can call me Pied Piper...~ I'm new in this place...~" It's clear that Pied Piper means no harm to Crepes.

The young boy looks at the pan flute then back at the teenager as his body becomes less tense. He whispered, "That song... It felt a bit... weird…". He's not wrong. The song has an eerie yet exquisite melody. It is rather difficult to explain because of its foreign and unknown tone.

Pied Piper raises an eyebrow without removing his smile and asked Crepes "You heard my song...~?" The young boy can only nod.

"Ohh...~ that's surprising...~" It appears that the melody itself is so unusual to where that only Pied Piper and Crepes can hear it.

Crepes starts to smiles. It's really... good...~", He marveled.

Pied Piper chuckles a bit. "Would you like to hear more~?" This caused Crepes to light up. "Yes...~ Yes I do...~" This caused the teenager to play his flute.

Crepes loves the song. It is compelling and flawless that he starts dancing to it, unaware that he has entered a trance-like state. "It's...~ I don't understand why it's good...~" He mused.

As Pied Piper plays the flute, the song sounds become more enchanting. It even attracted homies.

The homies dances around Pied Piper

'Dance, lonely souls...~ dance...~' He thought.

When Pied Piper stops his tune, Crepes stops dancing to it. The young boy starts to pant softly and a bit of sweat comes down from his temple. "That was fun~!" Crepes is jubilant from dance. It was amazing for him to experience. Then he asks "How long you'll stay here~?" to Pied Piper.

"For a couple of days...~" The teenage piper answers. This lit up Crepes' eyes. "Great~! Will you be my friend~?" The young boy excitedly asked. Pied Piper replied "Of course~" to the energetic boy, giving him the satisfying answer.

The Charlotte grandson rejoiced with "Yay~!" as he jumps in joy. Pied Piper smiles. "After a couple of days, I have to go back home...~ would you like to come over~?" Though Crepes finds the offer intriguing, he starts to think about his mother. "Well, yeah...~ But my mom will get worried...~" He states to the teenager

This causes Pied Piper to raised an eyebrow. "Really~?" This teenager sees this as a little obstacle that he can easily get through. The young boy nodded as a response to his question and starts to explain. "Yeah~ She's getting married to an idiot but she still—" However, Pied Piper interrupts him with a convincing conclusion for a child. "Then she wouldn't worry much...~"

Crepes, being young and not understanding, fell for it. "You think so~?"

Pied Piper simply just smirks. "I know so~" He acknowledged. Crepes "Okay~ What is your home like~?"

Pied Piper thinks for a bit before he inquired. "Well, will you believe that I actually OWN the island~?" This is very shocking news to Crepes. Never in his life that he heard of someone that young having such power and authority. "Really~?!" He asked beamily. Pied Piper nodded "Yes~". Pied Piper isn't lying about this claim. He is true to his word. The young boy's eyes sparked and excited to hear more. "What's it like~?" He begs to know about it.

Pied Piper smiles as he gives out a brief explanation to him. "It's a place where only kids live there~ All of them came from every race~"

This amazes Crepes, causing him to asked "Every race~!? Including giants~!?". Pied Piper simply confirms it to have the young boy to become even more amused.

Crepes knows that Totto Land doesn't have any giants so he is very interested in wanting to see and interact with one. Finally, Pied Piper gives Crepes the most intriguing information that is appealing to him.

"And here's the best part... no adults allowed~"

Crepes gasps in shock and awe. "Wow~! I really want to go~!" He marveled at Pied Piper. The older boy can only say. "If you wish so~" Besides, he's not forcing Crepes to come with him. It is his choice to leave Totto Land, away from his mother. Away from his idiotic future step-father. Away from his tyrannical grandmother. Away from corrupted adults.

"When can I go~?" He questioned with excitement. Pied Piper simply said that he will go at night and Crepes agrees.

The young boy realizes that it's nearly lunch. He believes that his mother made raisin scones for them to eat, even though she most likely made enough for three today. This upsets him further since it causes him to think she made those for Farl as well. Crepes turns to Pied Piper and said "I need to go home to Margarine Island... I'll see you later...~" In which the older boy respond with "See You soon~"

As Crepes leaves, Pied Piper smiles eerie as he plays the tune again and sits down. Then he starts to float on the rock as the song starts to give out a dreaded presence. The homies start to become afraid of him and go away.

Despite the naivety or negligence of the world about Pied Piper's true nature, his intentions are genuinely protective for little ones who felt lost, unloved. However, the ways with his ideal are questionable.

Extremely bone-chilling.

In Butter Town, Margarine Island, Galette and Myrtle are in the former's house. The eighteenth daughter puts raisin scones and tea at the table for her sister-in-law and her son, who is probably on his way home now. Recently, the Minister of Butter is very conflicted about her upcoming marriage. It's not like she doesn't like him. She does, maybe starting to love him.

It's because it has been years since she fell in love. It was with a kind man named Jules was her first true love. Unlike Lorenzo, her abusive first husband, Jules is a knight in shining armor. However, calling him a noble pirate would be a better term.

After Lorenzo died, Big Mom was quick to marry her off about two to three weeks later. Galette did meet Jules during her first marriage and was the only one to defend her against Lorenzo's abuse as her siblings were unable to defend her because of her mother's wrath. She was overjoyed that Jules becomes her soulmate and have a happy marriage and a healthy son together. Jules was even planning to take Galette and Crepes away from Totto Land to travel the world with the Jules Pirates.

However, that has never happened.

It was because Jules was killed by an assailant. He was found with multiple stab marks and was almost dismembered. Everyone discovered this a few days after his disappearance. Galette was heartbroken and alone.

Despite that, Galette still has enough strength to recover and take care of her son all on her own. She raised her son to be a happy, kind young boy. She always gives her love and attention to her. Despite that, she fears to lose him or seeing him getting hurt, especially when it comes to re-marriage.

When she met Farl, she was hesitant, thinking that he's a cruel man with a kind facade. She had looked at him closely for a while. She even sent her sister to figure out his intentions. Galette later realized that Farl is a genuinely nice man. He wants to marry Galette because he truly loves her and wants to be a good step-father to Crepes.

She was overwhelmed when he proposed to her. She kissed him after he puts the ring on her finger. As Galette was happy, Crepes was angry. He was afraid that Farl will take his mother away. Despite her attempts to calm him, nothing seems to work.

"Thank you for coming here, Myrtle nee-sama...~" She spoke to her sister-in-law. Myrtle smiles as she gets a scone and a cup of tea and replied "You're welcome, Galette...~" before she takes a bite of the scone. The two in-laws start to talk about recent events.

"How is Langres...~? Is he doing better...~?" Galette inquired. The Silhouette Mistress replied with a "Yes…~", causing the eighteenth daughter to sighs in relief. "I am happy to hear that...~ Especially after that 'incident'...~" This tells she is referring to the possession that Langres suffered. Though, it is great to have his family be more concern and loving to him, giving him the attention he needs.

Galette then starts to think about Crepes, especially about the argument they had. It is true that she is spending less time with due to her ministry duties, her upcoming wedding, and getting to know Farl. She then starts to feel guilty for making Crepes feel alone.

"Myrtle nee-sama…" She calls to her sister-in-law. "Do you think that I'm ignoring Crepes...?"

Myrtle is surprised that response "Ohh? What makes you think that?" The eighteenth daughter gives out her reasons, including that Crepes is upset that she's spending time with Farl. The nineteenth son's wife said that. "Many children don't get opened up to step-parent immediately…"

Galette understands but still worries. "It's a sudden shift for him... He even started cursing…" she said. Myrtle then ensures her that Crepes will adjust to it. It will be fine.

Crepes walks in the house, causing his mother greets him as his aunt drinks tea. "Hello, Crepes...~" She greeted. "Hello, mom~" He said back with a jovial expression. "Oh...~ You seem happy...~" She is relieved that his anger has gone away from the early morning. "I am~ I just made a friend~" He replied to his mother with a cheerful voice. Galette is at content that Crepes is making new friends. "Oh, really~? What's his name~?" she asked him, unaware that the answer will make her heart sank.

"He calls himself Pied Piper~" he answered.

Galette then drops her scone and looks at Crepes with fear in her eyes. She pondered "Pied Piper?" after a long pause. Not understanding, her son nodded and continues with "He has this odd pipe flute~ He said he lives in an island of boys only~" This further upsets his mother. "No... No, it can't be true...!" She shouts out, which surprises him.

"Crepes... Go to your room, please…" Myrtle said with a slightly stern tone. He is bewildered by her command. "Okay...?" He obeys with uncertainty as he goes to his room upstairs. When the Minister of Butter sees him leave, she then on the verge of tears. "I can't believe this…" She started to cry and her sister-in-law comforts her. "I'm such a horrible mother…! I should have been a better parent to him…!" Galette cried out.

The Pied Piper is a legendary mysterious figure who uses his piper to kidnap the children who are unloved, lost, or abandoned. He takes the children to an island to eat their flesh. The tale is meant for people to be good parents to their children.

However, he is not a legend.

Instead, a real person that gives everyone a good reason to fear him.

"It's not too late…"

Galette turns to Myrtle, who is standing up. "It's… It's not...?" She whimpers. The latter said, "I know a way to save him from the Pied Piper…". The Silhouette Mistress has a large array of knowledge to protect "mythical" creatures. Though she didn't have much knowledge about demons as she should, which includes performing an exorcism, she makes it up by dealing with "mythical" creatures.

"How...?" Galette asks desperately. Myrtle starts to explain to her. "You must stay with him throughout the night... close ALL the window and door…" The eighteenth daughter then inquired, "What if Crepes is still vulnerable...?" The Silhouette Mistress replied with "Cover his ears from the Pied Piper's flute sound... and no matter what, do not open the door OR window… Understand…?" She ends it with a question. Galette nodded back as she wipes off the tears.

* * *

Later tonight, Galette comes back to her house while holding Crepes' right hand. Crepes has prized toys from winning, mostly from Galette, games at the fair. "Had a good day at the fair, Crepes...~?" she asked. He responded by nodding. She smiles and said "Now get ready for bed~ Farl isn't here so you can sleep with me tonight~" This causes her son to perked up. "Really~?" he questions cheerfully. "Yes, sweetie~" Then her son went to the bathroom and then his bedroom to get ready.

As Crepes get ready for bed, Galette starts locking all the doors and windows. She checks that every entrance to the house is locked completely. Then after fifteen minutes, Crepes climbed on her bed as Galette starts to prepare for bed. Finally, the eighteenth daughter goes onto her bed and see her son lying down. He is exhausted from today and just wants to sleep. His mother kisses his forehead and said lovingly "Goodnight, Crepes~ I love you~" to him. In which he replied with "I love you too, mom~" as he hugs her. Galette holds him close as he falls asleep.  
After a while, Galette is trying to stay awake as Crepes is sleeping on her arms. She could brew a cup of coffee but she refused to do that. She fears that if she takes her eyes off him for only one second, he will be taken away by the Pied Piper.

The clock strikes twelve. She looks at the clock to see that it has been three hours. She still won't let her body fall asleep. She kept waiting to protect her son.

Then the sound of eerie melody from flute was heard.

Galette nearly jumps up in fear as Crepes slowly wakes up, still in a stupor. His mother kept holding him close. In a tired voice, Crepes whispers "Pied Piper...~?". Galette responded "No... Just go back to sleep…" in a hushed tone as she held him close and covers his ears.  
The flute becomes louder and the window shook a little as if the music is causing pressure on the window. This further scares her while her son unaware of the dire situation. Tears start to fall from her eyes. '_Just get away from him..._' She thought in fear. The sound continued to haunt the room. She starts to get Crepes asleep but she starts to become tired herself. Galette tries to stay awake as Crepes goes back asleep. Then she falls asleep.

* * *

In the morning at 7 AM, Galette is waking up. She looks behind her to that there is no sign of the Pied Piper nor the sound of his flute was being heard. She then looks down to see her son still sleeping. She sighs in relief and kisses his forehead, causing Crepes to smile in his sleep.

* * *

When the evening came, Galette is making breakfast for dinner. She calls Farl to come over so he can Crepes would start bonding and have a good father-son relationship. "Crepes~ Come down~ Dinner~" She calls Crepes down. He walked down the stairs to the dining room, only to see Farl sitting down. The Rommelain lord smiles at his soon-to-be-step-son and said "Hello, Crepes~" to him.  
Crepes, though resistant, said "Hi" after a long pause. Galette is quick to notice the upcoming tensions and starts to cool it down. "Crepes... Please understand that I had to get married... and I am lucky that I'm marrying a kind man…" She said yet her son still pouts. The eighteenth daughter then smiles. She said "Please don't forget I love you...~ You always have a special place in my heart...~" Crepes wants to remain stubborn but seeing his mother's smiling face makes him think otherwise. "Okay, mom." He said as he sits down as he pouts. Galette smiles and said "I've made your favorites tonight~ Various crepes desserts and milkshakes~" This makes Crepes smile. "Now~ Who was confetti crepes~?" His mother asked. "I do~!" He said with joy.  
Meanwhile outside, Myrtle is sitting on a tree. Her legs are crossed in lady-like position and her hands are on top of each other on her lap. She is smiling as she sees Galette and Crepes happy. She is glad that he is safe from the Pied Piper's clutches, just like all the children she saved. Suddenly, she feels a strange and dreadful presence. Instead of being afraid, she sighs as she turns around to see the Pied Piper sitting on the tree branches with playful disappointment.

"Awwwww…~ I was so close…~" The Pied Piper said in a mischievous tone. Myrtle sighs as she looks at him in annoyance. This shows that they may have met face-to-face many times before.

"What do you want this time…?" She asked with contempt. The Pied Piper giggles a bit and said amusingly, "I just want to come by and find someone to play with…~". Then he said, "I'll have to look for another one…~" before he flies off. Myrtle can only as she rubs her abdomen, causing the growth to "pause" and calls Nyx to fly her back home in Cheese Island.

* * *

**It's not technically a sequel of _Underneath Sheep's Skin_ but it's worth reading~**

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